Of Shagging, Snogging and Perfect Living - Or Not
by Forever Siriusly Sirius
Summary: "For the last fucking time, I didn't leave that cereal bowl there! Maybe if you weren't such a bloody proud bitch, we wouldn't have this problem! Just admit it was you, and clean it up already!" Marlene scoffed. "Me clean it up? It's not my bloody bowl, it's yours, and you spilt it. You clean it." A tale of drabbles about four people, two couples and one very small flat.
1. The One Where Everyone Gets Laid

**Prompt**: Friends AU Marlene and Evan are arguing again and everyone gets laid.

**Note**: These ships will seem hella weird to you, but I'm in a marauder era role play and they just sort of _happened_. Friends!AU is where Dorcas and Marlene have a flat together, in what is essentially a fluffy,no war post Hogwarts.

**Warnings**: Implied sex/naughty things and language.

* * *

"They're at it again aren't they?" Lucius asked dryly as he walks through the door of Marlene and Dorcas's flat.

Dorcas smirked, and gestures at the pair who were indeed arguing. Again. "See for yourself, or well, hear them. I'm surprised the Muggle cops aren't here yet, they've been at it for over an hour. Usually the neighbours have come over to check that everyone is still breathing at least once by now."

Lucius chuckled, observing the pair. Marlene had her arms folded across her chest, her usual scowl was plastered on her face and her cheeks were flushed. He couldn't see from this distance, but he would bet that her eyes were on fire. Evan was in a similar state, hands flying everywhere as he argued, face twisted into an impressive scowl. Those two always brought out the worst in each other, and always had. It was entertainment.

"For the last fucking time, McKinnon, I didn't leave that cereal bowl there! Maybe if you weren't such a bloody proud bitch, we wouldn't have this problem! Just admit it was you, and clean it up already!"

Marlene scoffed. "Me clean it up? It's not my bloody bowl, it's yours, and you spilt it. You clean it."

"Of course it's your bowl, and I did _not_ spill it! Christ, McKinnon, get off your high horse and just bloody admit it already."

Something about watching Marlene get all fired up as she yelled at Evan, utterly fearless and hell bent on getting her way, was making his trousers uncomfortably tight. Maybe it was the way her cheeks flushed when she got angry, or the way her eyes burned with fire that just did him in everytime. Whatever it was, he knew she had no bloody idea just what the hell she did to him.

With a slight growl in the back of his throat, Lucius took several large steps forward and grabbed Marlene around the waist, spinning her to face him, and crashing his lips to hers. He smirked into the kiss, and walked her back towards their bedroom, slamming the door behind them.

* * *

Evan watched irritably as Lucius swept Marlene away. Couldn't he chose a better time to satisfy his urges? He wasn't done arguing with McKinnon yet!

"I am _not_ cleaning that shit up," he muttered, annoyed. Arguing with her was on of his favourite past times, because she rarely backed down. It was amusing, to say the least, watching her get so worked up and seeing what creative insults she had for him that day.

His annoyance, however, didn't last very long as suddenly Dorcas was pulling him by his pristine tie towards her bedroom. Bemusedly, but definitely not complaining, her followed her through the door, only to be slammed into the wall with her demanding lips on his.


	2. The One Where Dorcas and Evan Get Caught

**Prompt**: friends!AU, Evan and Doe are shagging in the kitchen while Marlene and Lucius come home from a nice dinner.

**Warning**: Language and mentions of sex.

* * *

"Why won't you ever just let me pay for the bloody food?" Lucius complained as they walked home from the restaurant.

"Because," Marlene started indignantly. "I am perfectly capable of paying for my food!"

"Perfectly capable you may be, but that doesn't mean you can't appreciate a nice gesture every now and then," he replied as he held open the door their flat, ignoring her eye roll.

Marlene opened her mouth to retort, but whatever reply she had died in her throat as she was greeted with the sight of Dorcas, her best friend and flat mate, and Doe's boyfriend, Evan Rosier, shagging in the kitchen. She thought she was going to be sick.

"What's the hold up, McKinnon?" Lucius grumbled as he ran right into her. His gaze followed hers and he instantly paled. He cleared his throat to get their attention. Dorcas looked up, and her face flushed in embarrassment as she realised they'd gotten caught. Hastily they broke apart, attempting to locate some of their clothes.

"Was it really that difficult to get to the bedroom?" Marlene asked weakly as Dorcas finished pulling on her shirt. Evan stifled a laugh at the horrified look on Marlene's face as he unashamedly took his time getting dressed.

"Like something you see, McKinnon?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. Marlene scowled, and the only thing that prevented her from punching him was Lucius's hands on her waist as he stood behind her, restraining but gentle.

"I am going to fucking kill you," she hissed. She wanted to oblivate herself, but the mental image of what she'd just witnessed was forever seared in her brain. Evan laughed again. Dorcas shot him a warning look.

"Sorry," Dorcas muttered meekly. "We, ah, thought you'd be out longer."

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "I can tell," he commented dryly, looking at Evan before taking Marlene's hand and leading her to their room. Neither of them really wanted to look at Dorcas or Evan just then. "Next time, do try to keep it in your pants. A little self restraint never hurt, you know."

"I can't believe they fucked in the kitchen," Marlene muttered as they walked. "I'm never going to be able to look at either of them again."

He chuckled, before closing the bedroom door and finding other ways to distract himself from the horrificness of what he'd just seen.


	3. The One That Takes Place in Heaven

**Prompt**: Heaven!AU

**Pairings**: McMalfoy and Doevan

**Note**: The italicised words that Evan said to Marls near the end belomg to the super fabulous Denice, not me! Also, prepare for an onslaught of feels! Also, these characterisations are consistant with a role play I'm in, and also note that this is AU setting and so the characterisation of say, Lucius, might seem OOC to you but in this context it's not really.

* * *

Marlene died first. It wasn't altogether unexpected - when someone's personal philosophy is 'what's life without a little risk' you know they're trouble -; but that didn't make it any less tragic. For anyone.

If you asked Marlene what dying felt like, she couldn't really tell you. One minute she was screaming, all she could see was red and green as pain coursed through her body, and the next it all just…stopped. Like she'd fallen asleep. The next thing she knew she was roughly shoved through this gate into a _place_, like a little town or something. She couldn't really describe it. It felt like home, mostly. Complete with alcohol, and just a few things missing. Like her friends.

For a few months, Marlene was sort of alone. It wasn't just her in this world, people came through the gate all the time, but Marlene rarely saw them. It was like this place was divided into sections or something, she didn't know how to explain it. Some people, usually people who she was vaguely familiar with, stayed in her area and others she never saw again. She could watch all her friends, she didn't really know how it was happening, but she could see them and even hear them if she wanted to. She wasn't sure if that was a blessing or a curse. Watching her friends grieve was the hardest thing she'd ever done in her life, she wanted to let them know she was okay and to make their pain stop, but she couldn't and it killed her. She was okay, mostly, despite the fact that being alone was her biggest fear. Marlene was relieved, in all honesty, to be alone because it meant that her friends were still alive. She could cope with being alone if her friends were still alive.

* * *

Then Dorcas came through the gate, as inelegant as ever and almost landing flat on her arse and Madlene didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Marlene watched incredulously as Dorcas literally fell through the door. Her first instinct was to laugh at the indignant look on her friends face as she stood up and brushed herself off, then the reality of the situation sunk in. _Dorcas was dead_. Marlene ran straight to her friend, enveloping her in the tightest hug she'd ever given anyone.

"Oof, Marls, stop! I can't breathe!"

But Marlene couldn't stop, instead she hugged her back tighter, as if this was all a cruel trick and Doe could be taken from her at any moment. When she eventually spoke, her voice was quiet, and thick with unshed tears. "Is it selfish of me to be glad that you're here?"

Dorcas wrapped her arms around her friend, hugging her back, her own face was streaked with tears. "I never thought I would see you again," she whispered back, her voice just as thick as Marlene's. "When you died…," Dorcas choked, burying her face in Marlene's shoulder. "Just don't ever leave me again, okay?"

Marlene promised, and for a while they could pretend that everything was okay. They tried not to talk about the people they'd left behind, it hurt enough as it was to watch them have to carry on with their lives. They tried to think of it as a permanent holiday, exploring the place, redecorating the house they shared so everything was red and gold, with the occasional bits of silver and emerald woven in here and there. They quickly discovered the hottest parties, the best places to read or hang out, and they learnt in what places it was incredibly frowned upon to be drunkenly singing their school song. However hard they tried, though, something was always missing. It was awful, they decided, being able to watch their friends and not talk to them, or comfort them when they grieved. it was awful to watch helplessly as their deaths changed everything.

* * *

Evan's arrival was unexpected, and if Marlene thought Dorcas's arrival was inelegant, well Evan's was downright disgraceful. He actually did land on his face, spluttering the crudest things he could think of and glaring at everyone and anyone. Until he saw Doe.

The look on his face made Marlene's heart ache, and it only got worse when he swept Doe up into a searing kiss and holding her like she was the most precious thing in the world. While Marlene was happy for them, she couldn't help the pain and the jealousy she felt. As much as she wanted Lucius with her, she knew he had his own life to live. A life that didn't have her in it, and probably never would. And that hurt. Seeing Dorcas get her happily ever after ignited that pain, and made her jealousy rear it's ugly head. She couldn't stand watching them reunite, knowing she might never get that.

"Surprised to see you here, Rosier. What, did Hell kick you out?"

Her customary snarky comment earned her a chuckle from Doe and dark look from Evan. "Oh, McKinnon, how I have missed you and your sharp tongue."

She rolled her eyes in response to his sarcastic quip, and turned on her heel, unable to be around the couple anymore for fear of lashing out. To make things worse, she was forced to watch Lucius and Narcissa play happy families. Before Evan came back, her and Doe used to sit and snark about Narcissa, and whatever (if any) girls that Evan spent time with. It was their way of coping. Now that Evan was here, it was just Marlene bitching about Cissa. It was petty, she knew, but it made her feel slightly better.

"What does he see in her?"

"Please tell me you're not whinging about Narcissa again."

"Doe, look at them. She's so…sweet," Marlene wrinkled her nose, scowling, trying and probably failing to hide her jealousy. "Honestly, they never fight or do anything even remotely interesting. Cissa's just so boring, Doe! How does he stand her?"

Dorcas had rolled her eyes, and nudged her friend. "I'd rather watch them being sweet and boring all the time then coming home to find you and Lucius shagging all over the place."

To that, Marlene's scowl had deepened and thus started the fight over which couple got caught shagging the most. Evan had to break them up, whisking Doecas off somewhere. That was the worst of it. Things that Marlene had done with just Doe now included Evan as well, which meant more often that not Marlene felt like a third wheel. She hated it.

* * *

Several days later, Marlene was brooding by herself, when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up, and saw it was Evan. She scowled.

"Don't fucking touch me," she hissed. It wasn't a particularly unusual reaction from her. Just because they were, or in Marlene's case had been, dating each other's best friends, didn't make them friends. On the contrary, Marlene thought, it made them hate each other even more, in that kind of _I love to hate you_ way. Normally he would've made some sort of sarcastic quip, and walked off laughing, but not today. Today he stayed, his face more serious than Marlene usually saw it, especially around her. He rolled his eyes at her outburst, but didn't snark her back. He looked like he was contemplating saying something, but wasn't sure how. Eventually he spoke, and while his voice had his usual, irritating know it all know tone, she knew he meant well.

"_Marls_," he said, the old nickname causing her to freeze. "_You know he only fell for Cissa because she numbs the pain. She's literally nothing you ever were. She doesn't stir up feelings in him, and if he didn't have her to numb it the pain would drive him mad_."

Marlene felt her chest constrict, and she squeezed her eyes shut trying to control her emotions. "Why are you telling me this? I knew he would end up with Cissa one day, it's his duty. It doesn't bother me." Her voice was stiff, and they both knew she was lying. It hurt her more than she liked to admit. Evan squeezed her shoulder gently and walked off.

Guilt surged up in Marlene. Lucius might not have been forced into that marriage had Marlene just heeded his warning. Rabastan had warned Lucius, who in turn had told Marlene about the raid planned on her house. Instead of heeding the warning and staying away, her house was the first place she went. She had to warn her father. It was her own fault that both she and Lucius were in pain, because she was stupid and reckless and got herself killed. Strangely enough, Evan's words helped, and for that she was grateful. It made watching Lucius and Narcissa together slightly easier.

* * *

Decades later, long after the second war, it was finally time for Lucius to join them. Marlene, young as she had been when she died, leaned against a tree near the gateway when it was time, the others not far behind her. She was nervous, it had been a very long time since she'd seen him. He'd had decades to get over her. What if he decided he didn't want Marlene to be part of his life anymore? What if Narcissa - who had died years before and moved on elsewhere - was the one he chose? As nonchalant as she tried to act, she knew she was probably an open book. Evan quirked an eyebrow at her, as if to tell her to _stop being so bloody stupid and to snap out of it._

Then Lucius walked through the gate, and Marlene's heart stopped. Out of all three of them, he would be the one to elegantly walk his pretentious arse through the gateway, while the rest of them were very much inelegantly thrown on their faces. _Some things never change,_ she mused. He looked like he was twenty one again, before the weight of the world settled on his shoulders and everything went wrong. His grey eyes met Marlene's and her face split into the biggest smile she'd smiled since she died. When he smiled back, and opened his arms slightly as if to say '_well_?' it was like the world melted away. Without a second thought, she launched herself into his arms, burying her face in the crook of his neck as he spun her around. She could feel his deep chuckle reverberate through his chest as he held her close, lips meeting hers as if no time had passed between them.

It finally felt like home.


	4. The One Where Everything Goes to Hell

Prompt: Sleep - Evan has to stay at Marlene's for a night.

Pairing: McRosier, post deaths of Doe and Lucius.

Warnings: Mentions of alcoholism, drug addition and angst.

* * *

Thunder boomed in the distance as lightning strikes illuminated the gloomy space that was Marlene flat, and Marlene's alone. She had long since moved out of her flat that she once shared with Doe. It was too full of light and love and laughter, too full of painful memories of her now long gone best friend. Her new flat was dark, just the way she liked it. She liked to pretend the darkness shielded her from herself, stopped her seeing what she had become, because she knew Doe would be so disappointed in her and she couldn't handle that. The wind howled and shrieked, rattling the windows of the run down flat. Marlene had money, she could have brought herself a luxurious flat in the heart of London if she wanted too, but she didn't think she deserved it. Why should she get luxury when all the people she cared about were dead or gone? So she lived here instead, losing herself in the alcohol and the nightlife so as to numb the pain.

There was an incessant knocking on the door, and Marlene scowled. It was probably James telling her to put herself together again, because Doe wouldn't have wanted this and she was Marlene Fucking McKinnon and she should act like it. Drink in hand, she stomped to the door and yanked it ope, preparing to tell whoever it was to fuck off because it was 2am in the morning and just because she didn't sleep didn't give people the right to come knocking at two fucking am. Even though it was pitch black, Marlene could see everything clearly. The dark didn't faze her anymore.

Scowl deepening, Marlene took in the drenched figure in front of her, a scowl equally deep plastered on his face. "What the fuck are you doing here, Rosier?" She hissed, voice hostile. Rosier was /his/ best friend, and just looking at him brought back painful memories that she would rather keep buried.

"Do you actually think I would be here if I had a choice, McKinnon?" He hissed back, equally hostile. In the dark, Evan could almost pretend that Marlene was Doe, with the slender frame and wild curls. If he tried hard enough, he could see her brown curls flying in the wind as he chased her, for she had run off with his shirt, before he caught her around the waist and pulled her in for searing kiss. If he squeezed his eyes tight enough, whenever he brought a girl back to distract himself he could almost pretend the hands on him were hers. He didn't want to be here, but he had no other choice. The Muggle cops were after him for something that he did when he was high, and he couldn't be fucked to deal with them right now. His flat was being watched, he had no money, and the only other option was his best friend's girlfriend, who was almost as fucked up as he was. Not in the mood to play games, Evan pushed past Marlene, ignoring her cries of 'Fuck of, asshole'.

"To think I thought my flat was a mess," he commented, wrinkling his nose at the mess. There were bottles lying around, half eaten dinner still on the table, clothes strewn all over the place. It was a far cry from her old flat, which had been proudly, and drunkenly, done in a red and gold colour scheme that disgusted both Evan and Lucius. They'd convinced the girls to add in some green and silver here and there, so it wasn't entirely obnoxious. It too had been a mess, but it was an organised mess that made the place feel like home. This flat had peeling paint that was probably blue once upon a time, and the mess was disgusting, not homey. The snob in Evan hated it, but he wasn't one to judge. His place really wasn't much better. He turned to her with a smirk. "Relax, McKinnon. It's just until the cops leave me alone. Don't get your pretty little kickers in a twist."

Marlene resisted the urge to punch him. The asshole. "Fine," she scowled, folding her arms over her chest. "One night, then you're on the street. And don't even think about taking the bed, you're on the couch."

"The hell I'm on the couch," Evan snarled. The couch was filthy, covered in shit and looked like the most uncomfortable thing to ever exist. His eyes raked over Marlene, taking in her tight, sheer shirt that revealed a lacy black bra underneath. He saw the wild curls, and for a split second they looked brown. Evan noted her long, slender legs and her pretty face. It wasn't hard to see why Lucius liked her. Angrily, he forced his eyes away from her, cursing himself for looking. She wasn't Doe. Shaking his head, he rolled his eyes. "Don't be a brat, your bed's big enough for two for Merlin's sake. It's not like we're going to be anywhere near each other."

"It's my flat," she cried, rounding on him. It had been a while since she'd argued with anyone like this, the once familiar fire igniting in her eyes. In the dark, she didn't miss how his wet clothes clung to him, white shirt turned see through revealing a very toned chest. Marlene scowled when she caught herself looking. He wasn't Lucius. "It's either the couch, or the street."

She glared at Evan, and he glared right back, eyes fixed on each other, neither of them backing down. Both were studiously avoiding letting their gazes drop any lower, trying to avoid the painful memories the other evoked in them. His dark eyes were so different, yet so similar and full of an intensity that he hadn't felt since Doe died.

Marlene straightened up from where she was leaning against the wall, and Evan took a step closer, eyes never leaving hers. "Anyone ever told you you complain too much?" he growled lowly, dark eyes scanning her face but for what she wasn't sure. The temperature in the room rose as the tension increased. The atmosphere was charged, and the tension so thick it could be cut with a knife.

Marlene sucked in a breath, because yes, Lucius had told her that countless times before. He was barely inches from her now, neither of them really knew what they were doing. They were just driven by an intense need to make the pain stop, by any means necessary. Breathing slightly ragged, she blamed the alcohol in her system for what she was about to do. Her eyes dropped to his lips, and his to hers, and before either of them knew what was happening she had closed the distance between them, hands fisting in his air and his hands gripping her waist, roughly pushing her back into the wall. Shamelessly he allowed his hands to wander the curves he had been thinking about mere minutes earlier, practically tearing off her low cut shirt to feel the burning sensation of desperate flesh on desperate flesh. Her hands ripped the buttons on his shirt, fingers dancing none too gently down his chest as he hooked her legs around his waist, pressing himself into her as much as he could. Their kisses were hot with desire, desire for each other but mainly desire to numb the pain.

Somehow they stumbled to the bedroom, roughly fighting for dominance and branding each other with their marks. In the dark, Evan's frame reminded Marlene so much of _him_ that for a second she could almost believe it was him. Marlene's wild curls were so much like _hers_ that Evan could almost convince himself it was. The night was rough, neither of them were gentle. Neither of them _wanted_ gentle. They left bruises and marks and pain, but it was a distraction from the heartache that was slowly killing them both. At the height of passion they both moaned out the names of their dead lovers, hating themselves for what they were doing but craving it so badly because for some fucked up reason it helped. The pattern continued, Evan never did go back to his own apartment, and Marlene never did kick him out on the street. They craved each other with a burning need that neither of them could understand, but neither of them denied it. It was the only spot of colour in a world where everything was dead and grey. It was the only thing keeping them sane.


	5. The One Where Everyone Dies

**Prompt**: McRosier death, based off mine and Denice's headcanons.

**Pairing**: Marlene/Evan, mentions of past McMalfoy and Doevan.

**Warnings**: Language, alcohol abuse, drugs, overdosing, character death/suicide.

**Note:** Please review! They make my day xx

* * *

_I shot for the sky_

_I'm stuck on the ground _

_So why do I try, I know I'm gonna fall down_

_I thought I could fly, so why did I drown? _

_Never know why it's coming down, down, down. _

_Oh I am going down, down, down_

_I can't find another way around _

_And I don't want to hear the sound, of losing what I never found. _

– Down, **Jason Walker.**

* * *

It was torture, being out during Christmas Eve. Everywhere Marlene looked there was people smiling, couples holding hands, children laughing and the elderly smiling fondly at their Grandchildren's antics. Everywhere Marlene looked, all she could see was happiness, and it was suffocating her. Didn't the world know how painful Christmas was? Didn't the world know that for the sixth year in a row, Marlene would be spending Christmas without her best friend or lover because they were both dead? Didn't the world know that it wasn't fair that these families got to be happy while she had lost hers?

The bright lights that decorated the trees blinded her, and the sounds of choirs singing echoed in her ears, haunting her. Lucius had hated carols. Marlene and Doe used to get really drunk and sing them as loud as they could because it drove both Evan and Lucius mad. Marlene hadn't sung a carol since Doe died; it didn't feel the same without her best friend by her side. Emotions she'd tried so hard to suppress bubbled away inside of her, drowning her, and Marlene could feel the tears prick behind her eyes and she forced them down, because despite everything she was still Marlene bloody McKinnon, and McKinnon's didn't cry.

Out of the corner of her eye, every tall blond man reminded her of Lucius, and every flash of wild brown curls made her think of Doe, and Marlene couldn't handle it. She'd been dealing with this pain for six years and she was tired of it. All pretenses of actually shopping abandoned, she turned to the man next to her, who looked as tired as she felt.

"Let's go," Marlene said, scowling. "I need a drink. Or ten. All these bloody obnoxious couples are pissing me off. Plus it's cold."

Evan Rosier, Marlene's roommate, Lucius's best friend, and Doe's boyfriend, turned to face the blonde next to him and rolled his eyes.

"So demanding," he commented, smirking down at her. "I'm not giving you my jacket, so don't even bother asking, Princess."

Marlene shot him a dirty look, ignoring the sharp stab of hurt she felt. It was such a Lucius thing to do, to call her demanding. "Why the hell would I want your jacket?"

Evan raised an eyebrow, his smirk widening. "Because," he drawled, lazily tossing a possessive arm over her shoulder as he noticed the appreciative looks she was getting from a group of guys as they walked past. Partly it was his way of marking his territory, and partly he thought maybe her closeness would help distract him from the pain that was tearing him apart from the inside out. "This jacket is pure leather and one of a kind. Don't deny that you want it."

Swearing at Evan for putting his arm around her, Marlene twisted out from underneath his arm, and strutted ahead, not at all oblivious to the stares. Marlene flashed a smirk in the direction of a group of guys who she'd noticed checking her out. Dressed in a short skirt and a low cut top, complete with her own favourite leather jacket, it wasn't hard to understand why she got the looks she did. As usual, she looked hot as hell and she knew it.

It took less than ten seconds for Evan to catch up to her, throwing his arm over her shoulder again and pulling her close into his side, sending her a smirk.

Shooting Evan and irritated look, Marlene snarled at him. "Get your arm off me, asshole, I'm not your fucking property."

He smirked, not at all fazed but her crude words, and leaned down so his lips were near her ear. "My property or not, there's only rubbish 'round here anyway. I'm still the best you could do and you know it."

Again Marlene swore, but this time she didn't pull away. He was the only thing helping to take her mind off the darkness and the pain that threatened to consume her with every breath she took.

Despite their light bickering, both of them were on edge. Evan thought about her earlier words, about the couples, and he knew exactly how she was feeling, because it was the same for him. All he could think about were the too few Christmas's he got to spend with Doe, and the infinity of Christmas's he was deprived of because of her premature death. The memories flooded back, of him wrapping his naked self up in a ribbon and presenting himself to Doe as a work of art which earned him a smack for his arrogance (and later a shag), groaning when she insisted on playing bloody carols all day long. He thought of them singing Auld Lange Syne on New Years Eve, and that in turn reminded him of how he'd spent last New Years Eve. It had been the first time he sung Auld Lange Syne since Doe died, and with it had come an intense flood of bitterness and misery. Evan didn't think he could go through that again. He didn't want to. The pain was constant, always there on the periphery and he was so sick and tired of it. Suddenly he felt claustrophobic, surrounded by so many people who had the fucking nerve to be happy when it was taking everything Evan had not to fade away into the ever present darkness that always lingered. He felt his throat constrict, and his breathing became slightly ragged. Observing Marlene, he could see that she wasn't much better. There were shadows under her eyes and her lips were pressed together in a tight line, instead of their usual smirk. It wasn't hard to see that she was more off than usual.

Grabbing Marlene's arm roughly, ignoring her crude cries of let me go, asshole, Evan pulled Marlene into the nearest alleyway, the darkness comforting them both.

Marlene looked around at the dirty alley, shook off Evan's grip on her arm and rolled her eyes. "You take me to the most romantic places, Evan," she scoffed sarcastically.

"As much as I just love lingering in dark alleys with you, McKinnon," he drawled, rolling his eyes, "that's not why were here. We're going. I'll Apparate us back, please don't let go of my arm because if I have to come back and collect pieces of you because you're an idiot who can't follow instructions and got yourself splinched, I'll be very pissed off. Understood?"

'Home' for Evan and Marlene was a vaguely run down flat in London. Between the two of them they could easily have afforded something far more affluent and luxurious, but it didn't feel right to be living the high life when their friends were dead. Marlene immediately made a beeline for the liqueur cabinet, which she always kept well stocked and didn't hesitate to drown herself in the alcohol. She found her way to the couch where Evan was doing lines of coke. Neither of them were watching the other on this dark, melancholic night. After so many trips to the emergency room at the hospital, they had developed a system to ensure that the other didn't go too far with their vice of choice. Tonight, however, both were so wrapped up in their own pain that they weren't thinking about the consequences of not watching out. They just wanted the haunting pain to end.

Thunder boomed overhead, and the rain fell harshly. The night sky looked as gloomy as Marlene and Evan felt, angry storm clouds covered whatever little light there was from the waning moon.

Marlene hated herself. Doe would have been so ashamed to see Marlene like this. A broken down shell of the proud girl she once was, slumming it up and living on a diet of Evan and alcohol. She was pathetic. Marlene could almost picture Doe slapping her and calling her out on her pathetic bullshit if she were here. Searing pain shot through Marlene at the thought of Doe, and she bitterly downed the rest of the bottle in an attempt to push Doe out of her mind.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she thought of Lucius and the bitter disappointment that would be in his eyes if he saw her now. Marlene could actually hear his voice in her head as he shook her shoulders, calling her an idiot and desperately trying to stop her being so reckless.

"But what's life without a little risk?" Marlene would say if he were actually here. He would then roll his eyes in that exasperated way of his that always made Marlene just want to snog the hell of him, and he'd shake her shoulders and tell her there was a difference between stupid recklessness and suicidal self destructive behaviour.

Fiercely Marlene picked up one of the many empty bottles around her and threw it against the wall with everything she had. It wasn't fucking fair. It had been six years and the pain was as raw as it had been when they died. A sob formed in her throat and she choked it down with another drink. The world was starting to spin at this point, but she didn't care. Everything was amplified and too bright and fuck her head hurt, but the ache in her heart was still there. Always there. She needed more, the pain had to stop because it hurt so fucking badly. For six years she'd held onto this hell they called 'life', hoping one day to wake up and find the pain had seemingly vanished overnight. For six years she'd waited for the pieces of the puzzle to slot into place so she could put her broken and splintered self back together. For six years, Marlene had felt herself fall deeper and deeper into a sinkhole with no one to help her out of it and no way to help herself. For six years Marlene had survived, but she couldn't do it any longer. When the greedy hands of death reached out to mark her as its own, she greeted it like an old friend. Finally, the pain would stop.

Evan hadn't fared any better than Marlene. The drugs weren't stopping the pain, and he yelled out in rage. His voice was thick with six years worth of raw emotion. He almost laughed bitterly when he pictured Doe, looking at him with such intense disappointment. I'm sorry, he wanted to say, but he choked up and he couldn't say the words. He hated what he'd become; he'd fallen so far from the proud warrior he once was. Now he was a pathetic mess, always either tangled in the sheets with his dead best friend's girlfriend, or high. Disgust was something that Evan was used to experiencing, but it hurt so much more when it came from her. The pain was agonising, shooting through him, burning him. Killing him from the inside out. The more drugs he did the better he was supposed to feel, so he kept doing more, more, more, not caring that he was long past the point where he should've stopped.

"We'll be a brotherhood again," were Evan Ares Rosier's last words before the darkness hungrily claimed him as its own, pulling him tightly into the hands of death, and never letting him go. It was hardly the warrior worthy death he'd always imagined for himself, but it stopped the pain and that was all that mattered.

Death claimed two victims that night. Two reckless kids who'd grown up too soon, had loved too deep, lost too much, and fallen too hard. After six years of coy flirting, it was time they finally met their maker.


	6. The One Where Marlene Can't Cook

**Prompt**: Cooking

**Pairing**: Dorlene friendship

**Warnings**: N/A

**Note**: Please review! Thank you to all my fabulous readers who read/review/follow/favourite, you're all amazing.

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"You honestly can't be serious." Dorcas Meadowes looked at her best friend, Marlene McKinnon, in complete and utter disbelief. Marlene McKinnon, cooking dinner? Dorcas would rather eat nothing but disgusting beans for the rest of her life than suffer Marlene's cooking.

"What?" Marlene responded, holding the recipe book in one hand and waving the other around in the universal gesture of 'what'. She wanted to cook dinner, what was so confusing about that?

Dorcas continued to stare incredulously. "Marls, I love you, really, but you can't cook. You'll end up giving me food poisoning or something." There was really no point in beating around the bush. If there was one thing Dorcas was known for, it was being blunt and this time was no exception. She wasn't going to mollycoddle Marlene and lie to her about her cooking abilities, because firstly lying was something Doe heavily frowned upon, and secondly it would result in Dorcas actually having to eat Marlene's cooking. Dorcas honestly couldn't think of anything worse.

Pouting ever so slightly, Marlene rolled her eyes. She was used to her friend's bluntness by now. "I'm not that bad a cook, Doe. Remember last time I cooked for Mary and Lily and everyone? They all said my cooking was great, they couldn't fit in seconds though which was a shame. I thought for sure James and Sirius would eat me out of a house and home."

The memory made Dorcas want to gag. Everyone had been silently vanishing their food when Marlene wasn't looking. They loved the girl, and none of them had had the heart to tell her it was awful when she was so pleased with herself. Pulling a face, Dorcas responded, "Yeah, Marls, about that..."

Marlene frowned in realization. "They all hated it didn't they?"

When Dorcas didn't respond, Marlene sighed in defeat, and put the recipe book down. Truth be told, she knew she wasn't a brilliant cook, but she honestly hadn't realised she was that bad. One day, she would attempt to make edible food, but that night wasn't this night.

"Take out it is, then?"

Dorcas nodded in agreement, relieved that Marlene wasn't being her usual stubborn self. "Take out it is."


End file.
